Restoration – comforting Creole in Central

Finally someone is giving Sheung Wan’s private kitchen Magnolia a run for its money when it comes to New Orleans cuisine! The newly-opened Restoration on ever-bustling Wyndham Street is bringing soul food to Hong Kong’s hungry… and damn stylishly too – this is Creole chic.

The high prices and smallish portions tell you you’re in Central, but the warm welcome and friendly service transports you to the deep South. Occupying a smaller space than you might expect, we’re totally digging the decor, which relies on a post-Katrina inspired mix of battered window frames, exposed light bulbs, comfy banquettes and delicate glass perfume bottles as vases for single buds.

And the food? Well, we started with a bowl of gumbo (kind of a must-have for a Creole resto) and a spinach and pecan salad. The spinach salad was the surprise hit, so good we could have eaten double the amount! The table next to us was moaning about the lack of heat in the gumbo, but we lapped up the shrimpy goodness, complete with generous chunks of al dente okra.

Next up were crab cakes, rib-eye steak and a side of jambalaya. Steak features heavily on the menu thanks to Chef Jack Carson’s previous gigs at Bistecca, BLT Steak and Blue Smoke BBQ, and he clearly knows his stuff – this was one mean steak! The crab cakes were a little rich for the accompanying lemon mayo dressing to cut through, but were absolutely stuffed with fresh crabmeat so you could really see where your dollars are going. However, the jambalaya was absolutely the star of the show, filling and flavoursome – do not miss out on ordering this. We’ve also been hearing great things about Jack’s fried chicken and his signature Po’Boys so we can’t wait to make a return visit to try those!

To finish, we couldn’t NOT order the pudding called “Ridiculousness”, an ice cream sandwich made with the most amazing soft chewy cookies. Truly ridiculously good.

As Restoration is still in their soft opening period, you’ll need to BYO while they wait for their liquor license. We recommend booking well in advance though, as something tells us this spot is going to be a major hit once the mint juleps start flowing!